美国国家公共电台 NPR--A retired FBI agent on how to protect yourself during a mass shooting

A retired¹ FBI agent on how to protect yourself during a mass shooting

Transcript²

In the United States, there have been more than 200 mass shootings so far in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The nonprofit defines a mass shooting as an incident where at least four people are killed or injured.

In recent years, these shootings have occurred in places of worship, medical offices, elementary schools and outdoor events.

Knowing how to react in an active shooting is now necessary, according to Alex del Carmen, associate dean and professor of criminology at Tarleton State University.

"Many Americans are going to experience this at some point in their lives," del Carmen told NPR in a phone interview. "We now have almost an obligation to teach children and family members what to do in these situations."

Del Carmen has told his kids since they were little: Have an exit plan.

The typical advice?

Run. Hide. Fight.

Katherine Schweit, a former FBI special agent who wrote Stop the Killing³: How to End the Mass Shooting Crisis, created the agency's active shooter program after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012.

"Being prepared is a good thing," Schweit told NPR. "But don't be so scared that you overthink what's going on. I think, if you step back and look at maybe a fire drill in school, we've normalized fire drills and we don't think every time a fire drill goes off or a tornado⁴ warning goes off that we're going to be caught in a fire or killed in a tornado."

The priority for civilians⁵ under fire, Schweit said, should always be to escape.

Of course, police response also plays a central role — as it did in Uvalde, Texas. There, the shooter spent more than an hour inside Robb Elementary while police waited outside. How officers respond will always differ as long as agencies across the U.S. follow different training methods. (Recommended national standards do exist, but they are still just a suggestion.)

Schweit added that it's important to remember that these types of public mass shootings make up less than 1% of all firearms injuries in the U.S. annually⁶. More people are killed in their homes and neighborhoods than in public venues⁷.

"So, though they get a lot of news coverage⁸, they really still are a very rare occurrence," Schweit said.

Still, there's a lot of value to the three verbs: Run. Hide. Fight.

Run is option one. If you can't run, hide. And if you can't hide, fight.

Run

Regardless of the weapon, the further away you can get from a shooter, the better your chance of survival.

"That sounds, you know, very like 'we're in a war zone.' But at the moment that the shots are going off, you feel like you're in a war zone and it's better to get away if you can," Schweit said.

Wherever you are, look for exits. Evacuate⁹ without hesitating or gathering¹⁰ belongings¹¹, and keep going until you've reached a safe location.

Hide

"That doesn't mean run when somebody is firing on you," Schweit explained.

If there is no safe escape route, the FBI recommends finding a good hiding place, locking and barricading¹² doors and silencing cell phones.

Fight

Earlier this year, Brandon Tsay described on NPR's Morning Edition what he was thinking when he decided¹³ to fight, and disarmed¹⁴ a shooter in Monterey Park, California.

"It's going to end here. This is the end of my life. It's over. I'm going to die here," Tsay said. "But I was able to gather the courage I didn't know I had. I was able to come to the conclusion that I had to take the gun away from him or a lot of people would have been hurt."

Improvised¹⁵ weapons and coordinated¹⁶ ambushes¹⁷ have been successful in stopping active shooters in places like Colorado Springs and Noblesville, Indiana.

FBI research shows that it is more often unarmed people who save lives and end shootings than armed ones. "So don't believe that you can't stop a shooter. You can," Schweit said. "It's done all the time."

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

5 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

6 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

7 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

8 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

9 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

10 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

11 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

12 barricading   

设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的现在分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守

参考例句：

• He was barricading himself against possibilities. 他严阵以待可能发生的事。
• As he had anticipated, a thundering iron gate fell nearby, barricading the entrance to the suite. 果然不出馆长所料，附近的一扇铁门轰然倒下，封住了通往画廊的入口。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 disarmed   

v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
• The swordsman disarmed his opponent and ran him through. 剑客缴了对手的械，并对其乱刺一气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

16 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

17 ambushes   

n.埋伏( ambush的名词复数 )；伏击；埋伏着的人；设埋伏点v.埋伏( ambush的第三人称单数 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• He was a specialist in ambushes, he said, and explained his tactics. 他说自己是埋伏战斗方面的专家，并讲述了他的战术。 来自互联网
• It makes ambushes rather fun. 它使得埋伏战术非常有趣。 来自互联网